In the context of a discussion of how to respond to creationists in the classroom.

Always be ready to defend any argument from the ground up. It keeps your mind sharp, and we’re all capable of making lazy assumptions. Zionists continue to imagine their 19th century racialist ideal of the state is modern, and Henry Farrell worries about how to respond the the Georgians in Russia without an acceptance of the notion of “Spheres of Influence.”

Reuters just reported: "Honduras ... told a U.S. envoy not to present his credentials as ambassador on Friday in a diplomatic snub in support of Bolivia. Bolivia and ... Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez are in a fight with Washington over what they see as U.S. support for violent protests against Bolivian President Evo Morales. ...

"The United States imposed sanctions on aides to Venezuela's Chavez on Friday in retaliation for his expulsion of the U.S. ambassador, escalating a crisis that raises the specter of a possible oil supply cutoff. ...

"Violent anti-government protests have killed eight people in Bolivia, where rightist governors have rebelled against the popular president, demanding autonomy and rejecting his plans to overhaul the constitution and break up ranches to give land to poor Indians."

We’re not rational actors, we’re animals who make use of logical mechanisms in the pursuit of our interests and preferences.
Preference precedes reason, always trying [I'd written endeavoring which was pompous] to twist it to its purposes.